Air compressors are widely used in household and industrial applications for operating air powered tools such as fasteners, socket driving tools, material shapers, sanders, sprayers, inflation chucks, and the like. An air compressor typically includes an air tank for storing compressed air, a compressor for supplying compressed air to the air tank, and a manifold assembly for controlling and distributing compressed air from the portable air compressor to one or more air powered tools. Conventionally, a portable air compressor may include a shroud or housing, which encloses the air tank, the compressor, and the manifold assembly. The shroud, which is preferably formed of plastic, may include a handle for allowing an operator to lift and transport the portable air compressor between worksites.
An air tank enclosed in a shroud of an air compressor conventionally has a known tolerance due to the manufacturability of the tank head and the welding process of the tank. This tolerance often leads to the difficulty in designing a general-purpose shroud ribbing that may firmly hold air tanks of a range of sizes in place. In other words, if the ribbing is designed to firmly hold a nominal tank (e.g., an air tank with a medium tolerance) in place, there would be an extra space between the tank and the shroud for a minimum tolerance tank (thus the minimum tolerance tank may move in the shroud); on the other hand, a maximum tolerance tank would not fit inside the ribbing at all. This often leads to manufacture inefficiency.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide an apparatus and method for securing air tanks of a range of sizes within a known tolerance inside a shroud of an air compressor.